Happy Zwanze Day!

Happy Zwanze Day!  We can't get to any to place remotely nearby that has any of the fine beer from Cantillon, so we decided to celebrate instead not with a Belgian sour, but rather an American sour from the only American brewer invited to the sour beer celebration in Belgium - Allagash Brewing Company. Tonight it's Allagash's FV 13.  This is a sour ale aged for four years in a giant (2700 gallon) oak foudre (or foeder).

1420. Allagash Brewing Company - FV 13 - Poured from bottle into snifter from one of my other favorite American sour producers, New Belgium Brewing. Pours a rich, dark, orange/copper with two finger head. Head dissipates down to maybe 5 mm fairly quickly. Aroma - vinegar, cherry, earthiness, some funk and forest floor. Taste - very earthy and funky - clear brett notes, vinegar, sour apple and cherry, and some sweetness. This really reminds me, on some notes, of Crooked Stave’s offerings in terms of brett-taste. Finish is long and tart and earthy. Carbonation level is appropriate and prickly; mouthfeel is creamy and slightly oily. This is a complex beer with lots of brettanomyces character.  We have one more bottle left and we'll probably let this one age awhile longer to see how it changes.  
      

Awhile back we also had another beer from the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp collaboration, but forgot to record that here.  

1421. Sierra Nevada / New Glarus - Beer Camp - There And Back - This is a traditional english-style bitter.  Poured from bottle into English pint. Pours a rich clear copper with a two finger head. Head pretty quickly dissipates to a thin skim. Aroma - nose is fruity hops with light grass and citrus underneath. There is also some biscuit malt on the nose as well. Taste is a really nice balance of biscuit and hops with less citrus than on the nose. Finish is long and malty, carbonation level is pretty high and prickly.  Didn't get a picture of this, but it's a beer that we wish there was a lot more of around.  

Beer Camp: Sierra Nevada - Russian River Brewing - Yvan the Great

This is, after some delay, beer #3 from our Beer Camp box.  This beer is the Sierra Nevada - Russian River Brewing collaboration on a Belgian golden ale.  

1419. Sierra Nevada / Russian River Brewing - Yvan the Great: A golden ale typically has a very light color with spicy, yeasty notes.  It's one of our favorite styles. This version starts in very much that vein.  Poured into a tulip. Pours a very pale yellow, half finger head which quickly dissipates which does leave some lacing. Aroma is full of clove, wheat, honey, yeast - maybe a touch of ash underneath? Very traditional belgian aroma profile. Taste - while the aroma is typical belgian golden, the taste is similar in ways, but very different in others. There’s a lot of hop note - sappy, resin, pine fills the mouth mid-way through. Initially you get a bit of that belgian golden ale note, then it goes to the the sappy/pine flavor. There’s a residual, long-lasting finish of pine/resin. Almost a little hot on the finish. Not a huge fan of this - probably because I really like a very traditional golden. This isn’t bad, just different which I think is the whole point of these Beer Camp ales.